Chancellor is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the cancellarii of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the cancelli or lattice work screens of a basilica or law court, which separated the judge and counsel from the audience. A chancellor's office is called a chancellery or chancery. The word is now used in the titles of many various officers in all kinds of settings (government, education, religion, etc.). Nowadays the term is most often used to describe:

• The head of the government
• A person in charge of foreign affairs
• A person with duties related to justice
• A person in charge of financial and economic issues
• The head of a university